Sunday, 27 October 2013

The second stage of the Palestinian prisoners' release was approved, and the list of those up for release has been formed: Following a fiery debate in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation over the Struck Bill to block the releases, the special committee for prisoners release has confirmed the second stage in the deal which led to the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.

The 26 prisoners to be released were jailed due to crimes performed before the Oslo Accords , and served time ranging between 19 to 28 years. 21 prisoners are from the West Bank and five are from Gaza. The list of prisoners will be posted Sunday night on the Prison Service's website, after the bereaved families will be informed. more

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah land crossing for the second day in a row on Sunday, Palestinian officials said.

The crossing was opened on Friday for Palestinian Hajj pilgrims. Palestinian officials at Rafah said that the Egyptian authorities informed them that the crossing would be closed on Sunday, however.

On Friday, Egypt allowed 1,450 Palestinian Hajj pilgrims to return to the Gaza Strip and 403 other Palestinians were permitted to leave. Among these were students, patients, and other humanitarian cases.

There have been frequent closures of the Rafah terminal in recent weeks due to political unrest in Egypt and violence in the Sinai peninsula. more

[Sunday October 27, 2013] The Al-brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, has reported that one of its fighters was killed in an accident in one of its border tunnels in southern Gaza.
The Brigades said that Saleh Yousef Al-Basheety, 23, was one of its senior fighters.
There have been dozens of Palestinians who were killed in numerous accidents in the tunnels, mainly after the tunnels collapse on them, while other were electrocuted by exposed wires.
At least 232 Palestinians have also been killed in tunnel collapse accidents since the siege was imposed on Gaza. more